Best Southern Books for Your Book Club

The only thing better than a great read is sharing it with friends. Here, a few favorite Southern books for flipping. Someone bring the wine.

1 of 10

"Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier

Asheville, NC
Could we rebuild our lives if everything we thought we knew fell spectacularly apart? If everything changed without warning? Frazier’s epic love story asks us these questions as he takes his characters through incredible struggles set in a gorgeously described Southern landscape. We’ve heard Cold Mountaindescribed as “The Odyssey set in the Civil War South,” and we have to admit that we see it that way, too: as a true classic. Frazier’s gorgeous prose and taut storytelling will keep book club members engaged from start to finish. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

2 of 10

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café" by Fannie Flagg

Birmingham, AL
If stories are the currency of the South, Fried Green Tomatoes is a great reminder that some of the richest tales come from porches, cafes, and even whistle-stop train stations. Pretty much everyone has seen the movie, but have you read the charming book? For confirming that small towns, small businesses, and neighborly advice are important, and for sharing our love of great barbecue, coffee and grits, we love Flagg, and we’ll never forget the characters she introduced at The Whistle Stop Café. A perfect book for groups. Buy it: amazon.com

3 of 10

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Jackson, MS
In The Help, Stockett called a new generation to face up to difficult truths about segregation, and she did it in a book that’s also a page turner. We’re glad Stockett chose to write this book, even though she took a lot of flack for writing about black maids as a Southern woman, because we needed a story like this: honest about painful hypocrisy without succumbing to clichés and Southern stereotypes. The novel has become a book club favorite, and we love it because of the conversations it starts. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

4 of 10

"Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry

Henry County, KY
Kentucky farmland and the rural community of Port William are recurring themes in Berry’s fiction, and Jayber Crow is so deceptively simple that it’s easy to miss how much thoughtfulness and reflection is churning below the novel’s surface. A poet, cultural critic and farmer, Berry is known almost as much for his activism as for his writing, which is superb. Berry delivers his message quietly, but he’s actually a passionate champion of storytelling and community. A great book to gather with friends to read. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

5 of 10

"Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy

Atlanta, GA
This isn’t just a Southern family saga; it’s also about our struggle to make peace with our pasts and to acknowledge our histories without repeating them. It’s about the truths we share with our siblings and the wounds we carry from childhood. The subject matter is dramatic, but we’re soothed by Conroy’s wonderful prose, so refined and flowing and beautiful that we feel renewed after reading. A timely book club selection, as we remember Conroy and his wonderful works. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

6 of 10

"Sophie’s Choice" by William Styron

Hilton Village, VA
Clearly, the central dilemma of this novel is brutal. But surrounding the shocking choice Sophie had to make in a Holocaust internment camp is a complicated narrative that draws parallels between the horrors of Nazi Germany and the injustices we see every day in the world around us — injustices that, before reading Sophie’s Choice, we might’ve been prone to gloss over or ignore. Styron’s prose is engaging and fittingly achingly beautiful. A good book to read amongst friends. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

7 of 10

"State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett

The Amazon jungle feels so close in this book; we can almost see the tree canopies and hear the mosquitoes. But the uncharted territory Patchett explores isn’t limited to the jungle. Her novel is a fascinating juxtaposition between the orderly, scientific Western world and the chaos and power of untamed wilderness; it’s also about this paradox of life: that sometimes the only way to piece together our past is to commit to exploring a new future. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

8 of 10

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Monroeville, AL
Lee showed us her big story of love, racism, persecution and redemption through the eyes of a child, allowing us to process them through a filter of innocence. She removed the filter when she released Go Set a Watchman, but we’ll never forget how our original readings of To Kill a Mockingbird changed us, helped us see the world differently, and gave us heroes we could respect. Reread it with a group of friends and reminisce about when you read it the first time. We bet you’ll find something new in it. We always do. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

9 of 10

"Wise Blood" by Flannery O’Connor

Savannah, GA
In Flannery O’Connor’s South, religion permeates everything, sometimes purifying and sometimes perverting until both the Scripture and the soul are unrecognizable. It’s like looking at life through a funhouse mirror, and that’s what makes O’Connor so fascinating. The absurdity of Wise Blood plays tug of war with religion, each one moving the other forward and holding it in check at the same time. Read this impressive debut novel from this master of Southern Gothic. Buy it: amazon.com

Advertisement

10 of 10

"The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Making this story of a boy and his beloved pet fawn tug at our heartstrings was the easy part. What must’ve been harder was creating a story full of grit, adventure, and wisdom, and setting it all in a frontier-like Florida that most of us have never imagined. Did The Yearling break our hearts? Sure. But it also taught us about life, companionship, and love of the land, and it’s a great novel to enjoy with friends. Buy it: amazon.com